With fast-track trade and the extension of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) to other nations likely to surface in the new Bush administration, this exposé should be of considerable interest. John MacArthur begins and ends his account with the fortunes of Swingline, the stapler company that moved its production to Nogales in 1999, and the impact on some of its long-time employees. It is also the story of the development of NAFTA and the politics of selling it to members of Congress and the American people. Those interviewed included lobbyists, government officials, members of Congress and Swingline employees.
Mexican officials suggested a trade agreement to Carla Hills, Trade Representative for President George Bush and in 1990 President Salinas formally made the proposal. Bush notified key members of Congress and Canadian Prime Minister Mulroney. (Canada and the U.S. were already in a trade treaty.) The proposed NAFTA treaty guaranteed corporations access to cheap labor, with little responsibility for environmental damage or costly labor demands.
The needed support and backing for approval did not take place until after President Clinton was elected. While Clinton wasn't enthusiastic at first, he soon became convinced. The author suggests the President may have been swayed by improved fund-raising possibilities for his party if they supported the treaty. Anti-NAFTA forces starred Ross Perot, while big corporations and the Clinton advisers spent millions for the treaty's passage. The pro-NAFTA advisers hired the services of Lee Iococca as spokesperson to the masses, obtained a list of supporting Nobel Prize winners in economics, and brought in three former presidents — Ford, Bush and Carter. The press contributed by publishing countless articles slanted in favor of NAFTA. Members of Congress were promised special favors, often projects for their districts. Environmental groups and labor were misled about protections that would likely be included. The spin, hype and promises were overwhelming. The treaty was signed in 1993, and is to last until 2008.
The author performed a NAFTA post mortem, interviewing some of the principal players a few years later and gathering information on how NAFTA has worked through 1999. If you find NAFTA objectionable, you will find this a well researched book on the subject.
John R. MacArthur is publisher and president of Harper's Magazine. He is also an award-winning journalist and author of “Second Front: Censorship and Propaganda in the Gulf War.”
— by Carol Joyal
